Venezuelan immigrant in critical condition after being shot by ICE agent

Incident in Austin: ICE agent seriously wounds Venezuelan migrant

A serious incident has shaken the community of Austin, Texas, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a Venezuelan citizen, leaving him in critical condition. The victim, identified by his relatives as 28-year-old Wilber Garcés, remains hospitalized after being shot in the torso during an operation carried out in the north of the city.

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According to testimonies gathered by local authorities, the incident occurred when a federal agent, aboard an unmarked vehicle, intercepted the car in which Garcés was traveling. Mike Siegel, a local councilman, noted that the officer collided with the victim’s car before exiting his unit and opening fire on the driver, who remained inside his vehicle.

I spoke to the boy, I asked him if he was okay and he told me: ‘They shot me in the back’. He looked tired, like he was suffering. The officer did nothing, he didn’t come over to help.

Witnesses who were near the scene claimed that, after the attack, the officer did not provide immediate assistance to the victim. The young man was found with gunshot wounds to his back by people who approached after hearing the detonations, who remained at the scene until the arrival of emergency services and the local police.

They demand transparency in the investigation

Austin authorities, including Mayor Kirk Watson and Police Chief Lisa Davis, have made it clear that local officers did not participate in the ICE operation and were limited to traffic control duties. Given the seriousness of the event, officials have requested a thorough and transparent investigation.

• Mayor Kirk Watson and Councilmember Mike Siegel have requested measures to ensure that the officer involved does not leave the state while the facts are being clarified.
• The identity of the federal officer responsible for the shooting remains confidential for the time being.
• This event adds to a series of similar incidents recently recorded in immigration operations nationwide.

This episode is recorded in a context of growing tension due to the increase in operations by federal immigration agencies. Just last July, a similar case in Houston resulted in the death of a Mexican migrant, an event that still keeps local authorities in an open investigation process to determine responsibilities.